


Keith's Mission

by Addicted2Anime



Series: Victory of Man [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura pretends she isn't racist, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Big Brother Shiro (Voltron), Dark Agenda, Eventual Happy Ending, Forced Orgasm, Forced Pregnancy, Fucked Up, Kolivan is a secret softy, Little Sister Pidge, M/M, Mpreg, Not the happy kind, One-Sided Attraction, Political Agendas, Poor allura, Rape, Reunions, She doesn't like Keith or the blades, She's pining after Shiro tho, This is a No-Blade dies AU btw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-09-02 11:16:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16785889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Addicted2Anime/pseuds/Addicted2Anime
Summary: ☆ON CURRENT HIATUS WHILE I FIX THIS SHITE☆





	1. One Man left Behind

“I can't believe we're stuck here. This base predates the Zaipirium Siege; it's amazing this equipment remains operational!”

“We're lucky to have it since the rebels overran the Sigma-3 Quadrant, it's all we have left in this system.”

Keith smirks to himself as he hears the Galra Soldiers bickering on the dock below. He wasn’t part of the blades when they took this quadrant, but he still feels a surge of pride when he hears of their victories. It’s more than Voltron accomplished in the entire year they’ve been together and he couldn’t help but be a little bitter. He reminds himself that the Blades have been around for centuries – it makes sense they’d have accomplished more in that timeframe. Keith’s attention is drawn back to the dock at the mechanical whirring of the bay doors opening.

Kolivan makes turns to face him, motioning for them to move in and get a better look. They had been waiting for hours now as the ship they were waiting for passed through the multiple clearance levels of the base. The increased security made everyone antsy. It was odd enough that the Empire established new trade routes, not to mention ones to a deserted quadrant like this. Something was off and the Blades were going to find out what. They had decided on a small team for this mission, taking Regris as their technician and Kolivan as their tactician and maybe even just to keep on eye on Keith. The hybrid didn’t have the best track record with reconnaissance, but everyone has to start somewhere; as Thace had dutifully pointed out.

The massive cargo ship surfaced from the lower bay doors, and Kolivan made a muffled grunt of surprise at whatever readings he got from the vessel. Confused, Keith made a questioning sound low in his throat, but Kolivan only pointed to where the docking platform unfurled from the hull.

He watched as a battalion of sentries disembarked, guarding a glowing barrel of golden liquid. Quintessential Life Force. Quintessence, for short. Kolivan retreats back into the shadows, and Keith follows suit, Regris right behind him.

“We destroyed the Komar. How are the Galra still producing such vast amounts of quintessence?” Even through his mask, Keith could tell Kolivan was worried. “It’s imperative we find out where it's coming from and where it's going.” He turns to his newest initiates, directing them quietly. “Regris. I need you to hack the system and download any files you can find, while Keith goes below and gets a reading on those barrels. Something’s off about their energy signature, and I want to know why.”

Regris gets straight to the matter at hand, making a direct shot down the elevator shaft and towards the central computer. Keith moves as well, but a clawed hand on his shoulder draws him back.

“Don’t give me that look Keith. Get a reading on that shipment but, remember that this is mission purely intelligence gathering. Do. Not. Engage.” Kolivan was one of the best when it came to parental castigation, and while Keith wanted to be offended by the implications of his warning, he begrudgingly admits that Kolivan’s concern is far from unfounded. He could practically hear Thace’s lecture on ‘ _rash decisions_ ’ as he makes his way down to the loading dock.

 _‘Guess I’ll just have to prove him wrong then, won’t I?’_ Keith tucks his head in with a determined smirk and shoots towards a cluster of well shaded and unguarded barrels. He pulls out the scanner and quickly runs a thorough scan over the cluster.

There’s a hushed intake of breath over the comms as Keith fires the information to Kolivan. “Impossible! It's overloading my monitor… I've never seen these kinds of readings before!” Kolivan exclaims in a voice barely above whisper, shocked by the alarmingly potent power coming off the strange shipment but not so surprised as to blow his cover. Keith however, is not so lucky. His earpiece malfunctions as he attempts to get that little bit closer to the barrels, and he barely avoids crying out as they squeal in his ear.

The noise was enough to catch the attention of a passing sentry however, and while Keith is quick to dispatch it before it can sound the alarm, it’s finger locks on the trigger and the stunned bot fires wildly as it falls.

Sentries and soldiers alike mobilized immediately, alarms blaring at the discovery of Marmoran intruders.

“The op is compromised. Abort!” Kolivan was already on the move. “Extraction point in two doboshes. This is a hard out!”

Keith immediately makes a break for their pod, too fast for any bots to catch him and too nimble for any live soldiers to get their claws on him. It took some impressive evasive maneuvers to lose the majority of the heat. Though he managed to return to the pod with barely a minute to spare, he’d drained a large bit of his energy in the frantic retreat and he finds himself panting heavily. The rush of excitement comes to a crashing halt when he takes stock of the small escape pod readying for departure. Kolivan is checking dials, calibrating navigational equipment calmly, but Regris is nowhere to be seen.

“He's not back?” Keith’s huffs in between gasping breaths. “Regris was in possession of vital information, we both know we can’t just leave him.” His mind is screaming, memories of his retched childhood dredged up from the depths of his battered psyche, marred and manipulated to fit his current situation. _‘I can’t leave him behind. Not Regris…’_ He thinks determinedly, hand reaching without his consent to touch the scarred mating bite beneath his armor.

Kolivan sighs heavily, knowing exactly what was going through the young initiates mind. He doesn’t turn around, only calls commandingly after him. “He's got 30 ticks!” Kolivan shakes his head at the retreating figure, continuing preparations for departure and grumbling to himself about ‘liabilities’. “This is why I don’t like taking new mates on missions…”

Keith was already halfway to the elevator shaft by this point, and as he neared he came upon a ring of soldiers keeping aim at a Marmoran in the center. Regris had spotted Keith before Keith could, and the panic that rose in his throat betrayed him in his shout. “What are you doing?!” Regris cries, dodging a plasma blast and catching a boot in the ribs as he rolls out the way. The kick definitely would have broken ribs had he not been wearing his armor. He lands with the grace only a Blade could muster and faces the advancing soldiers with barely a glance in his other’s direction. “We were ordered to retreat! Get back to the Pod!”

Keith jumped into the fray, blade already out and transformed, swinging in graceful arcs as he clears a path. All blades were trained in hand to hand combat and the art of the blade, but the technicians like Regris who focused in technology and malware were significantly lacking in that area - they could hold their own against one or two targets but not an entire horde. “Get that information to Kolivan, I can handle myself!” Keith takes down enough soldiers to give Regris an escape route, but the window was rapidly closing as reinforcements came barreling down the opposite hall.

Regris takes his chance, checking behind him to ensure Keith was following. “What are you doing?!” Keith headed to face the incoming squadron, blade in hand. “Come with me!”

“We’ll never make it back if I go with you! I’ll stay and fend them off, just get out of here!”

Regris’ instincts scream as he turns away from his mate, but his training takes precedence. The mission is more important than the individual, and the information he’d gathered could save thousands of lives. Keith would be okay.

He tries not to wince at the sound of ion blasters firing as he sprints back to the pod.

~~~~

Regris slides through the doors in the nick of time, and lay panting on the metal floor of the ship as they take off. A small part of Regris mind registers that he took far longer than two doboshes, and a larger part snarls at the thought that Kolivan had waited – that Keith could have come back with them if he had just picked him up and ran. Kolivan silently pilots them towards the nearest outpost, where they would gather supplies before warping back to home base. It would be a good varga or two before they landed.

“The information you requested is safely filed away on the portable communications device to be copied to the main hard drive at a later date, sir.” Regris reports tersely, drawing himself upright, disengaging his mask and rubbing his ears to regain circulation as they flop out of his hood. A heavy silence fall between the two Blades as they travel, both knowing that the other was upset and neither willing to address the reason.

It wasn’t until hours later, when the distress beacon embedded in Keith’s armor alerted them to tampering that Kolivan broke the silence. “Every member of the Blade of Marmora understands that the mission is more important than the individual.”

Regris’ mind was reeling, testosterone flooding his body as primal instincts insisted he retrieve his mate from the enemy. Rational thought reminded him that it wasn’t Kolivan’s fault – that he was just following protocol, but he could barely contain the rumbling growl attempting to escape between clenched teeth. ‘ _This isn’t about Keith. The mission comes before the individual_.’ He recites the line drilled into every Blade since childhood, trying to quell the bloodlust rising from the depth of his unconscious mind. ‘ _You’re on the clock. He’s your colleague not your mate right now. Focus on the mission._ ’ The last thing they needed right now was to have Regris flying off the handle like some rutting teenager.

The angry voice in his head insisting he _save his mate_ didn’t care.

Kolivan barely had to look at Regris to know what was going on – the potent smell of burnt rubber filling the cabin was enough to alert him to his state of mind. The fact that he couldn’t control his scent was a sure sign of his internal struggle. The part of Kolivan that had seen Regris grow up wanted to embrace the cub, assure him that they would rescue Keith, but the stern leader and seasoned veteran knew what a terrible decision that would be. Regris was experiencing his first instinctual override – likely due to his relatively new mating bond with Keith being threatened. The safest way for Kolivan to reassure Regris was from outside of clawing range.

“I’m going to call Princess Allura and her Paladins. The sooner we get Keith out of there the better yes, but we cannot risk compromising this operation any further than we already have. Not with the intel we’ve gathered.” Kolivan calls softly from the cockpit, grabbing the slipping recruits attention. “Your mate is strong, Regris. He’ll be alright.”

Regris looses a frustrated snarl, punching a shipping crate hard enough to dent it before settling into a looping pace around the back of the ship. His hold on his instincts was slipping fast and if he fell any further he may need to be put in solitary – he’d seen Blades driven mad by the death of their mates, and his mind was spinning rapidly down the self-destructive path of ‘ _what if_ ’.

Kolivan adjusted the dials and switched the correct frequency to contact the Castle. “Hello, this is Kolivan hailing from just outside the Sigma-3 Quadrant. Come in Voltron!” His ears twitch minutely at the connecting chime. Allura’s face fills the viewscreen, and Kolivan has to keep his own expression in check as the diplomatic smile slips from her face.

“Kolivan, come in. The Black lion is going haywire in the hangar, what’s going on?” The distant baying of a frantic lion can be heard on the other line, and concerned shouts filter through almost imperceptibly. The battle hardened leader couldn’t help but wince preemptively at the lecture he was surely facing.

“Keith has been captured, I’m sending the last known coordinates from his tracker to you now.”

Delicate features tighten as the Princess reads the coordinates. Keith was no longer at the quintessence warehouse, a fact that Kolivan neglected to mention to Regris – for obvious reasons.

“Kolivan, these coordinates are a good distance from your current location.”

Kolivan looked back into the ship worriedly, sighing in relief as he found Regris muttering himself distractedly. “Then you see why we cannot return for him. You have a larger team, high tech battleships, and sophisticated teleportation technology long since lost to time – you would have far better chances of success then our own two person team.” He sighs for what feel like the hundredth time that night, thinking longingly of his bed at the barracks. ‘ _I’m getting too old for this…_ ’

“Kolivan, you cannot keep putting our Black Paladin in these perilous situations if you are not prepared to protect him!” Allura’s eye scales shimmer angrily as she fumes.

Kolivan tamped down on his fury, speaking calmly as not to escalate the situation any further. “I was under the impression that the champion could also pilot the Black Lion. You must remember that Keith is also a Blade. He understands when he accepts these assignments that the mission is more important than the individual.” He begins the arduous process of disconnecting from the private line.

“This conversation is not over, rebel.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less, princess. _Víťazstvo rebelom_!” with a nod and a hearty rebel salute, Kolivan cut off the feed.

~~~

Allura curses at the fading view screen and sets the castle on an auto pilot course to Keith’s last ping before tacking her zipline down to the Lion Hangars.

No sooner had she landed was she accosted by her harried looking advisor, sweating buckets and looking slightly scorched. “Thank goodness you’re here princess! Black is inconsolable!” The lion roars, straining against chains thrown hastily around her. The Paladins try desperately to calm her with little success. Hunk is nearly thrown across the docking bay with her frantic jostling.

“It’s not just Black, Red is going bonkers too!” Lance comes running up in full Paladin armor, glancing worriedly over to where the green and yellow paladin’s are attempting to chain red down to the ships floor. “Something’s not right, Red’s really upset.”

Allura begins to suit up with calm precision, commanding the other Paladins to do the same. “I know, we just got a message from Kolivan; Keith’s been captured.”

Both Lions loose a distressed roar.

“The Blades will not risk the safety of the mission to rescue him so it’s up to us to get him back.” She clips her bayard onto her belt.

“What do you mean they won’t ‘risk the mission’? Isn’t having a member captured risk enough?” Shiro leaves off trying to subdue the frantic lions – they’ve calmed significantly since realizing they were going to rescue their Paladin – and helps Hunk snap on his chest plate. “Shouldn’t they be worried about Marmoran secrets in the hands of the empire?”

Allura shakes her head. “Initiates go through extensive conditioning to dilute the effectiveness of torture. It’s barbaric but effective. _the mission is more important than the individual_ my ass.” Her tone softens to a far more soothing hum as Shiro blanches. “We’ll get your brother back before he can put that training to use Shiro. I promise.”

Shiro nods curtly, lips pursed. “I’m coming with you.”

“Shiro you can’t! We don’t have room for you in the Lions, and Altean pods aren’t meant for battle. I’m sorry to say it but if you came with us you would only be a burden and you know it.”

“Keith is my responsibility! I promised him I would never abandon him. I left him alone once Allura, I’m not going to do it again.” Shiro turns, marching determinedly towards the Black. To everyone’s surprise, she bows, opening her great maw to let him board. But black was nothing if not stubborn.

Sitting in the Pilots seat once again is a surreal experience, one Shiro thought would never happen again. He feels a whispering tingle in his body as a staticky voice whispers in his mind.

_~Keep him safe~_

“Come on girl…” Shiro coaxes softly, “You trusted me once, you can trust me again.”

The controls stay _stubbornly_ and _decidedly_ unlit.

“Black, please. I need to do this.” A tear slips down his face, striking the console with a quiet _*pwip*_. “I need to be there - I need to be there for Keith.”

That was all she needed to hear.

The Lion hangar shook with the mechanical roar of the Black lion and her sisters, eyes alight with the yellow glow of her cockpit and shining with her call to arms. Shiro had taken on the mantle of Leader for one last time, and both the Paladins and the Lions of Voltron welcomed him back to the Pride with open arms. His place in their midst assured and approved by the Lioness of Air and Justice.


	2. Treasonous Plots and Non-metaphorical Shackles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I wanted to pace myself, but... I finished the next chapter and decided to post waaaaay early! I couldn't help myself... Fair warning, that 'non-con' tag comes into play in this chapter so.... yup.
> 
> I love comments and kudos so be sure to leave some for me!  
> Thanks for reading & Enjoy~

_“Get that information to Kolivan, I can handle myself!”_

_Keith takes down enough soldiers to give Regris an escape route, but the window was rapidly closing as reinforcements came barreling down the opposite hall. He barely heard Regris make his exit – Blade training allowing him to move with the silent grace of a ninja. He checked to make sure Regris had moved before clutching his blade just that little bit tighter and running to meet the oncoming squadron head on._

_“What are you doing? Come with me!” Regris had stopped dead in his tracks, voice so desperate, scared and even the tiniest bit angry that Keith nearly lost his resolve._

_“We’ll never make it back if I go with you! I’ll stay and fend them off, just get out of here!” Keith charges head long into the throng of soldiers, swinging and swiping with deadly grace. Every cell in his body wants to turn around and leave with Regris, to make sure he makes it to the ship safely, but he hold fast. Regris was a fully-fledged Blade of Marmora and the information on that flash drive held the key to whether the mission would be deemed a failure or a success. The mission is more important than the individual, after all. Regris could take care of himself._

_He was just beginning to think he would win, that he could hijack a fighter jet and make it off the base, when the butt of a plasma blaster smacked him in the back of the head._

~~~

Keith is no stranger to waking up in strange places. A bench in the park, a toilet stall at the garrison, the many alien establishments that he’s visited since leaving earth. No, Keith Kogane is more than accustomed to waking up and wondering ‘ _where the fuck am I_?’, but this? This definitely takes the cake.

He’s strapped to a cold metal table legs spread, hands shackled above his head and naked as the day he was born. 

_‘What kind of interrogation tactic is this!?_ ’ he thinks wildly, testing his restraints and getting absolutely nowhere. A quick look around the room reveals that he is not – in fact– in a prison cell. The room looks closer to a medical bay, sinks, scanners, cotton swabs and the like are neatly organized along the walls and counters. His mind helpfully supplies images of severed limbs and robotic prosthetics and he shudders involuntarily.

The mechanical whir of a door opening alerts him to the presence of a Galran soldier. “Well it’s about time you came around little thing, I was beginning to think we’d have to start the fun without you.” He chuckles darkly. “It certainly was a shock to find the halfbreed of Voltron working with the Marmoran spies. Tell me, how did your team react when you told them you were the very thing they fight against?”

Keith grit his teeth angrily. “Being Galra doesn’t mean I have to lick the boots of a tyrannical fool.”

The soldier let loose a booming laugh, hand coming down to caress Keith’s naked ass. "There's fight left in you yet, little one," he laughs, sounding pleased, "you'll need it for what's to come."

Keith shudders as the hands travel over his body, bile rising in his throat. _‘I can do this. This is nothing. If Shiro can do it and not only live but escape, so can I.’_

“And what exactly can I expect while in your custody, _General_?” His attempt at a snarl sounds weak to even his ears.

“Please, call me Marik. You are my guest after all, aren’t you?” The General smiles viciously, leaning close to whisper in his ear. “You will be part of something much larger than your silly little rebellion. _You can expect_ , my little _Kríženec_ , to be my foothold into greatness.”

The hair down the back of his neck prickle as Marik cards fingers through Keith’s hair. The words were cryptic to say the least, and had Keith’s brain working a mile a minute to try and decipher their meaning. An affirmative beep alerts Keith to the presence of another soldier seconds before the door slides open to reveal him.

The exchanged a few words in rapid fire Galran, alerting Keith to the fact that his translator had also been liberated from his person. Keith had been learning Galran through The Blades before this, but these two were talking too quickly for him to translate the majority of it. There was a slight clanking noise as a metal container was turned over by the newcomer- who Keith immediately noted was much smaller than the average Galra, a good indication of mixed blood.

“ _Tu sú životné semená, o ktoré ste požiadali, generál_.” The smaller Galra pauses briefly, as though considering what his next words. “ _Čo chcete s týmito vecami? Každý vie, že sú nebezpečné…_ ”

The larger Galra who’d woken Keith chuckles lightly. “ _Nie sú pre mňa, neboj sa_.” A tense silence filled the room then, broken only by slight clank of shifting armor.

“ _Čo plánujete Marik_?” The smaller broke the silence, an equal mix of concerned and suspicious.

Marik grabs the lieutenant’s chin in a firm grasp and the smaller relaxes minutely. The gesture notably intimate, and the trust there was surprising considering the cutthroat attitude of the empire’s militia. There was something more between these two and Keith filed the information away for later use. He didn’t like the idea of using a hostage to barter for his freedom, but if the opportunity presented itself he wouldn’t hesitate.

“ _Všetko bude jasné, dajte to čas_ , Imrich.” Imrich melts under his gaze. “ _Ste prepustení_.” The larger Galra, Marik, dismissed Imrich sounding almost… gentle.

“Vrepit Sa.” Imrich salutes, taking his leave with a suspicious glance in Keith’s direction.

The tone throughout their conversation had been generally informal, though Marik had been addressed as General when Imrich first entered. _‘Lovers maybe? Friends at least. I might be able to use this…’_ Keith’s thoughts were cut off by large hands pulling apart his asscheeks.

“What he fuck do you think you’re doing?!” Keith chokes as a clawed thumb brushes over his puckered hole, clenched tight in fury and embarrassment.

Marik stands, seemingly unbothered by the vulgar stream of threats falling from Keith’s lips. He walks over to the counter, where he’d placed the capsule. It opens to his touch, revealing a large test tube and a small dime baggie type container filled with small oblong pills. They shine with an eerily familiar glow. The General retrieves one, palming it and bringing it over for Keith’s inspection.

“Do you know what this pill is, little one?” He questions, amused and vaguely excited all at once – an extremely odd combination to see an a large Galran Soldier. It served to further Keith’s suspicion. Keith glared daggers at the smirking General.

It had about as much affect as flame to stone. Marik continued with an indulgent chuckle. “This pill – more commonly known as The Seed of Life- is a wonderous invention created by an Altean alchemist. They’re very hard to come by these days, I almost couldn’t find a provider.” He held up the half full baggie with a toothy grin. “But it seems luck would be in our favor little one.”

Marik began to root through the capsule as he continued, back turned to Keith though his large ears were attuned to every clank of his chains.

“I’m sure you are well aware of the story of how Voltron came to be. The five paladins who came before you and their relationship with our Emperor Zarkon ten thousand years ago.” He gently set the vial on the counter and Keith was able to see the viscous lavender liquid it was filled with. “The story you likely haven’t heard however, is of the Blue Paladin Blaytz of Planet Nalquod and his secret Galran lover.” Marik paused again, smirking to himself at the surprised inhale from his audience. “No one knows for sure how true this legend is of course, but the story goes that they met during a banquet at the Sincline Estate- A satellite castle belonging to the royals of Daibazaal- shortly before the comet that formed Voltron crashed into our planet. It was a celebration of their recent victory over some invading nation or another, and there was food and drink a plenty, served by the multitude of servants that were used before the development of Sentries. Blaytz, known for his charisma and charm made the unknowing taboo of inviting a servant to the table. Dobromil was sent off in disgrace much to the Nalquodonian’s distress.”

Keith found himself drawn in by the General’s story, the events described playing out before his eyes.

“Blaytz felt guilty for the shame he brought unto the servant boy, and sought to apologize to him after the feast, but upon reaching the servants quarters, he found the young man flayed open by the lazer-whip – skin burnt and blackened and his jumpsuit melted to his flesh surrounding the mess of ruined skin.”

The image his words paint is sickening. Keith had seen firsthand the damage that lazer-whips inflicted upon the prisoners they’d rescued. The mess they’d left on Shiro’s back. 

“Blaytz stole Dobromil away to Nalquod that very night and treated his wounds. Perhaps the saddest part of this is that no-one noticed his absence beyond the other servants. In time, the two grew to love each other, and within the year the two where mated eloping in the dead of night; much to the disapproval of the Prince’s parents.” Another vial was pulled out of the capsule, followed by a large syringe and Keith was quickly reminded that he was a prisoner in enemy territory - chained and left to General Marik’s mercy. “They were happy, for a time. But as the Paladin’s of Voltron grew older began to build their families, the pair began to long for something they could not – should not have been able to have. Blaytz beseeched Alfor to help them conceive, adamant that they find a way to make a child of their own – and he did.”

Keith had been wracking his brain to connect this story to current events – what on earth does this love story have to do with him? - but as Marik removed the last piece of equipment from the capsule, a massive dildo complete with a liquid chamber and knot, he was quick to put two and two together. A dull panic began to take root.

“Prince Alfor created a device, a seed that creates an artificial womb when implanted into a male host. It had yet to be tested of course, but the couple where all too happy to be the trial pair – no matter how Alfor had advised against it.”

Hands were once more at his rear, Keith hadn’t even noticed Marik move. Keith’s eyes watered with pain as a finger as shoved unceremoniously into his ass, something small and round nudging uncomfortably at his walls. The stretch was more than a little uncomfortable despite the wealth of lubricant. Galra – especially this one, apparently – had huge hands equipped with long fingers to match. Marik rubbed Keith’s thighs comfortingly, taking it slowly as if to ease Keith’s discomfort.

It only served to strengthen the swirling pit of disgust. He snarled, jerking against his restraints hands clenching with the urge to swing at the Generals face.

“The seed took root, and the planet of Nalquod was thrown into joyous celebration the announcement of their queen consort’s pregnancy.”

Keith swore as a second finger was added, but was quick to respond with false bravado. “So what? Your master plan is to knock me up? Make an example of the Black Paladin? Of the Blade of Marmora? Hate to break I to you pal, but I’m not taking that pill.” The strain in his voice gave away how much pan he was really in.

“Oh? You already have, little one.” He says simply, scissoring his fingers gently before pulling them out, only to slick them back up and come back with three. Keith gave a steady mantra of curses and threats as Marik worked him open with too much care to keep this interaction impersonal.

He hissed as the fingers retreated once again, gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut against the tears threatening to spill. “You better watch your fucking back asshole, because when I escape I’m going to cut off your balls with a rusty butter knife and feed them to you one _disgusting, bloody_ piece at a time.” He promises.

Marik only chuckles indulgently, like he was watching a kitten hiss at a snarling Doberman. “I look forward to you trying, little one.”

Unsealing the vial of purple liquid, Keith’s eyes flying open at the slight hiss as whatever was keeping the substance cold was released. Condensation rose in whisps out over the lip of the test tube. It wasn’t until Marik drew the substance up into the liquid chamber of the dildo, that Keith realized what it was.

It was jizz. Like from a fucking sperm bank. And Marik had apparently already shoved a seed up his ass.

“No, no NO. You can’t do this!” Keith struggles violently against his restraints, pulling at the manacles keeping his arms above his head until his wrists were raw and bleeding. “I- don’t you fucking _DARE_ -” He chokes at the press of the synthetic cock was pushed against his thoroughly opened entrance.

“Hush now little one, what would your fellow Paladins say if they could hear you now?” Marik had removed his hand from Keith, instead pressing it into the small of his back, holding him steady and as the blunt head breeched him with a slow surety.

Keith was tense and shaking, sobs he refused to voice wracking his frame. A hand pressed into his chest, holding him steady. “Your pup will play a crucial part in the unseating of Emperor Zarkon. You should feel honored to have such a critical part in this historical coup.”

And then he was thrusting. Slow at first, working up to an almost punishing pace as the general began to lose his patience. A clawed hand reached between his legs and cupped his balls, massaging gently before stroking his flaccid dick.

“Come on little one, you need to climax for this to work.” The General retracted his hand just long enough to slick it up with the remaining lubricant before stroking him in earnest, Keith’s cock betraying him as it perked up at the attention. “There now, that wasn’t so hard was it?”

Keith was shaking his head, tears streaming down his face even as he rocked forward into his captors hand and back into the plastic he was fucking him with.

It was a constant mantra, broken only by moans and sobs as he was brought closer to completion by hands that so patently _weren’t_ his boyfriend’s it made his stomach turn in horrified and disgusted knots. _‘What if Regris could see you now? Letting some stranger put their hands all over you- taking it and crying like a little fucking bitch!’_ The nasty voice in Keith’s mind cajoled harshly, keeping up a litany of criticism and self-hate.

Marik left off his cock, the hand on the dildo slowing as he brushes careful finger tips over his mating mark. “Interesting…” Marik hums, hand still stroking his mark. “I hadn’t realized the Black Paladin of Voltron had been mated, let alone to a Galran. Do me a favor and try not to go into shock? The stress of it is terrible for conception.” Keith had barely a moment to ponder what the General meant before he bent over and sunk teeth into the meat of Keith’s shoulder.

The rush of bonding hormones overpowered him, pushing him into a terrifyingly strong orgasm – cock spurting over the planes of his abdomen.

When the rush was gone, and his climax faded, a new wash of emotion overpowered him.

Sheer, unadulterated panic.

Alarm bells blared in his head, an voice he’d only heard a handful of times screamed in his head that this is wrong, that Marik is not his mate that Regris would be angry – would abandon him; his chest was heaving, his lungs were screaming, heart beating a million miles a minute-

Keith barely registered the exasperated voice of his accoster, hadn’t even realized his vision was fading until he’d passed out.

~~~~

When he awoke, it was to the harsh voice Marik, having a strained argument with who Keith recognized as Imrich, the short Galra from before.

“ _Lvovia z Voltronu zničili všetky vojnové lode, ktoré sme poslali, veci nevyzerajú dobre_!” The underling was clearly panicking.

Slowly, Keith opened his eyes, head pounding with the blaring alarm he’d only just realized was sounding in the background. General Marik was standing in the open doorway and Imrich was hyperventilating just outside, emergency lighting had activated along with the siren alerting all personnel that the ship was under attack. Marek cursed silently. “ _Máš pravdu. Musíme uniknúť_.”

Imrich looked relieved at that, but he peered around the taller Galra to jab his thumb at where Keith was still bound and – he realized belatedly – plugged with the still inflated knot. “ _Čo s ním robíme_?” He says, tone questioning.

Marik steps over, releasing Keith bonds with a few simple buttons keyed to his touch, leaving only his hand and ankle shackles. Keith wants nothing more than to jump up and strangle Marik with his shackles, but his body has gone strangely numb, oddly distanced from reality.

“ _Vráťte ho k ostatným. Semená boli prijaté, on splnil svoje použitie - v tomto okamihu_.” Marik kneels, caressing Keith’s cheek with a look of such excitement Keith can feel his stomach turning once again. “We will meet again, little one.” He stood and left the room without a backwards glance, pausing only to address the stunned lieutenant in the hall. “Imrich, _kontaktujte Voltrona_.”

Imrich sighed, shaking his head, but never the less obeyed. “ _Rozumieť General. Vrepit Sa_.”

Keith had barely a moment to register the knot delating in his ass before he was thrown over Imrich’s shoulder, minutes blurring together as his Mamoran armour returned to him, his hands were uncuffed, and his body jerked roughly as he was redressed. If he had been more coherent he may have registered the disgusted cursing as Imrich discovered the bite, might have noticed horrified faces of his teammates on the holoscreen as he was held up as a bartering chip. He may have fought the guarded escort throwing him out the airlock just in time to be scooped up by the red Lion’s welcoming maw.

But he could barely keep his eyes open. Was barely coherent. He was floating in the dark recesses of his mind, where he didn’t have to think, to feel. To deal with what had just happened. He was bathed in nothingness and he was happier for it. The reality that was waiting for him was just too much – so he shut down.

*VLD*VLD*VLD*VLD*

“Paladin’s of Voltron! We have something we think you may want returned to you.”

A series of gasps filled the shared comm as the Galran hailing them held up Keith’s despondent form, his eyes glassy and face covered in a series of bruises and some minor cuts. He looked fairly alright to anyone who didn’t know him, but to any who did…

He wasn’t even shackled.

“Keith…”  
  
“Fuck!”

“What have you done with him! If you have harmed him in any way shape or form we will blow your ship from here to-“ Allura’s surprisingly heated threat was cut off by a placating gesture from the Soldier.

“One of you may come around to the hangar bay to retrieve him. I swear to you by our Lord Zarkon that he has not been seriously harmed in any way… physically.”

‘ _Physically_.’ The word echoed dully in Lance’s head. “I’ll go.”

The Paladin’s threw a series of objections, the loudest of which seemed to come from Pidge; the Green Paladin snarling her incredulity through the comm lines.

“You’ve got to be kidding me? Lance! You hate Keith! No. I’m going to get him.”

“You don’t even know him! You had no idea who he was until Shiro crashed by the Garrison last year!”  


“I didn’t know who ‘that mullet-headed show off’ was, but I hardly knew who anyone you ranted about was! Tuning you out is a specialty of mine.”

Lance puffed up, ready to debunk Pidge’s argument with something undoubtedly witty and intelligent when Shiro cut in, sounding disgruntled and irritated. “That’s enough! Lance, you will go and retrieve Keith- if for no other reason than the fact that I can feel Red trying to break away through the Lion bond and I don’t particularly want her to contest Lance’s control to get to Keith.”

Pidge gave an indignant squawk, and Voltron disbanded, allowing Red to finally dart away from the group. They had infiltrated enough Galra Warships to know approximately where the hangar bay was, and Lance felt an odd pull in his chest as he neared the bay doors. _‘Please let him be okay…’_ he pleads with whatever deity was in control of this fucked up reality, and Red purred comfortingly through their bond. The doors opened, and Lance was fully prepared to board-

When they threw Keith’s limp form out the airlock.

Red growled angrily, and swooped down to scoop Keith up with barely a nudge from Lance. He released his safety harness, and rushed down to Red’s jaw. He flipped Keith, watching his mask disintegrate and taking stock of his fellow Paladin’s haggard appearance. The Galran who’d contacted them hadn’t lied, Keith seemed fine physically – the majority of his wounds seemed superficial – but what worried Lance most was the vacant Lavender stare focused just past his head. Something was definitely wrong. A hand to his cheek revealed cold, clammy skin.

“Lance?”

_‘Oh, gracias a Dios…’_ “Hey buddy, everything’s gonna be okay.” Lance hefts Keith into a fireman carry (there was no way he could carry him otherwise) and begins to trot back up to the cockpit, when Keith makes a muffled choking sound. “Keith? What’s the matter?!”

Keith retched, expelling not a small amount of pungent bile down the Lance’s side.

“¿Qué demonios?" Lance flinched in disgust. "¡Asqueroso! You're lucky I'm worried about you bro, or I’d toss you back out into space!” Lance shakes his head, breathing through his mouth to try to help with the smell – it’s not like you can just crack a window in the cold void of space. He hooks Keith in to a passenger harness before strapping himself in. “I got him guys. I don’t know what they did to him but he’s definitely not okay. We need to get him back to the castle.”

“Yes, I’ll tell Coran to prepare a cryo pod.” Allura paused, leveling Lance with a strange look. “Why are you covered in vomit?”

“No time for questions, Keith looks ready to fall the fuck over and I don’t want to clean more puke than I already have to tonight!” Lance closes the line and makes a bee line for the Castle. A quick look back at Keith revealed the Paladin was turning a concerning shade of grey.

Lance doesn’t know if he spurred Red faster or if Red simply made the executive decision to make it back to the Castle as fast as possible, but before he could blink he was approaching the docking bay and the doors were shutting behind them.

_‘You’re gonna be okay Keith. We’re home now.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> (Slovak - Galran )  
> Tu sú životné semená, o ktoré ste požiadali, general  
> ^Here are the Life Seeds you asked for, General
> 
> čo chcete s týmito vecami  
> ^ what do you want with these things
> 
> Každý vie, že sú nebezpečné  
> ^everyone knows they are dangerous
> 
> nie sú pre mňa, neboj sa  
> ^they are not for me, do not worry
> 
> čo plánujete pane  
> ^ what do you plan on, sir?
> 
> všetko bude jasné, dajte to čas  
> ^everything will be clear, give it time.
> 
> ste prepustení  
> ^You are dismissed/released
> 
> (Spanish – Lance-ish)
> 
> Augh Qué demonios? Asqueroso!  
> ^Augh What the hell? Disgusting!
> 
> Oh, gracias a Dios…  
> ^ Oh, thank God…
> 
> Funfact:  
> Ho-ho-Ooh boy, this one is fun. Once again I was traversing the depths of Tumblr, and I found this interesting post regarding a certain noodley alien we met in season 4. Remember Bih boh bi? Well… Just go to google translate, and translate ‘bih boh bi’ from Croatian to English. Apparently ‘Bih boh’ means ‘I would be’ in Croatian, and there are multiple fans who are screaming over the connotation this has when we look at season 7 episode 4 (The Feud!) , where Lance plays Charades with Bih Boh Bi. The episode, despite being undeniable filler, was a gem in my books. We got the beautiful scene where Keith and Lance choose each other to be freed from the show, aswell as beautiful Lotor/Haggar/Zarkon family bonding (“DON’T TOUCH ME YOU FILTHY, FILTHY HAG!”) , and Pidge tackling Bob to the quiznacking ground– OoOps tangent! Anyway, Que fandom explosion at Lance screaming “BIH BOH BI” several times in one episode. Why you ask? While Bi doesn’t translate, when you place it at the end of “I would be” It looks an awful lot like “I would be Bi.” I would be Bi as in Bisexual? Maybe. Definitely fits with Lance. Is it an Easter egg dropped by DreamWorks? Probably not, but I approve.  
> PS. My fav highlights of this episode (and some memes that should have died long ago but I LOVE THEM) can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M53P1Ch8l4o


	3. A Piece of History Lost to Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! Back with another garbage chapter! I don't think there are any translations for this chapter, and I'm too tired for funfacts but~ If enough people request it, I can post Blaytz and Dobromil's story as a sort of side story to accompany this fic. I've already drawn up a basic story-line for my own reference so it wouldn't be much trouble to type it up and post it for you all. What do you guys think? 
> 
> Enjoy~

Keith came back to himself slowly over the course of the next few days.

When he first realized he was back in the Castle of Lions, he’d been on a cot in the med bay – Coran’s excitable ginger mustache shinning a penlight in his eyes and asking him questions that he couldn’t process fast enough to answer. It was like someone had stuffed his head with cotton, his thoughts slow and muzzy. A rolling pain swept through his abdomen and he barely had a moment to react before he was retching over the side of the bed.

“Oh dear…” Coran scoots out of the way just in time and simply holds his hair back while someone else places a garbage can under his face.

“Coran what’s going on, I thought you said he was okay?!” Shiro exclaims, and Keith feels the a warm hand rest on his forehead.

“There’s no physical trauma, though the scanners are congruent with what Lance said about minor scrapes and bruises, but…” There’s a terse pause, before the ginger clears his throat. “Can I ask the rest of you to leave? I’d like to speak to Shiro without an audience if you please.”  


There are some dissenting mutters, but the doors swoosh open and closed, signaling their departure.

Keith gags again, though nothing comes up, and Shiro’s hand moves to his back, rubbing soothing circles.

“I wouldn’t tell you this if I wasn’t sure, but it seems as if Keith was… assaulted. In a sexual manner.” Coran sighs heavily, like the universe rested on his shoulders. “The scans I took indicate some significant bruising around his rectum, though there’s no tearing. We won’t know for sure until Keith is lucid enough to corroborate what happened and from the look of things we likely won’t want to know. Rape is a terrible thing no matter the circumstance but… Galra mate for life, and the chemicals released during the process of mating are used to cement a bond between two willing partners. For a bonded Galra, rape is… an awful torture, to say the least. I’m not sure how this will affect Keith psychologically in the long-term, given his hybrid physiology, but the poor boy is unsurprisingly in shock.”  


Shiro makes an indescribable sound of fury and distress, and Keith leans into him seeking to comfort and be comforted. Shiro cards fingers through his hair soothingly.

“I should also tell you…” Coran continues, seeming hesitant to continue but decisive nonetheless. “There is, something else – something I haven’t seen in a very long time. A growth of sorts inside him. I’m not positive it’s what I think it is – it shouldn’t be, given that the only one ever made was given as a gift many Deca-Phoebs ago, but I will have to do more tests to find out. Keith may be-.”

Coran is interrupted as Keith slips from Shiro’s arms, falling limply to the floor.

“Oh dear.”

~~~

The second time Keith comes back to himself, he’s staring at the sterile white ceiling of the medical bay.

Taking stock of himself, he feels much better than he did when he’d last been lucid enough to notice subtle aches and pains. His ass wasn’t throbbing anymore, for starters. He tried to get up and maybe get something to drink, but his progress was impeded by a cocoon of blankets. His mind reeled, dredging up the horrible memory of heavy chains and electromagnetic cuffs – being unable to draw his blade, unarmed, exposed and _weak_ –

“Guys, he’s awake!” 

He barely realized who had launched themselves into his cot before he struck out, rolling out of the restraining comforters and wrapping shaking hands around a slender throat-

“ _Ack_ \- K-Keith! It’s me!”

Pidge. He’d hurt Katie. “Pidge? Oh god… I’m so sorry…” His voice cracked and he scrambled off the tiny form. She was trembling, eyes wide and coughing wildly. He looked around the room, horrified at himself and what he’d done. Somehow, seeing the sympathetic look on his friends faces only made it worse. Hunk stepped forward and helped the youngest Paladin to her feet.

“I warned you not to startle him. He just escaped a Galra warship for goodness sake.” He chides gently, looking at the hand shaped marks forming on her throat. “Leave him be for now Pidge, you can squeeze him later, we should give him some space until he’s more with it. As for _you_ , we need to treat these before they bruise.”

Keith wasn’t listening anymore. He hurt Pidge. He tried to kill Pidge. She could have _died._ He flinched when a hand clasps his shoulder. ‘ _Shiro_ …’ He realizes with a painful clench of his heart. _‘Get away… I don’t want to hurt you too…’_

Someone off to the side cleared their throat.

“What the hell man!” Lance fumes, spitting mad. ‘ _For once_ ’ Keith thinks ‘ _he has a legitimate reason to be’_.

Shiro has moved from his spot beside Keith, stepping forward and giving the red Paladin a warning glare. “Lance-” Shiro cautions, cut off by Lance’s angry tirade.

“You think you can just run off to your little Galra friends without a word, get captured and expect us to come and save your ass?” Lance is quick to get right up in Keith’s face, and it makes Keith’s blood boil. “Hate to break it to you but your _friends_ were willing to let you _die_!”

‘ _This is seriously what he’s mad about? Seriously?_ ’ Keith is growling low under his breath, and Shiro makes a valiant attempt to get between the two - only to be shouldered aside by a wobbly Keith.

“Oh I’m sorry Lance,” Keith fumes, dripping with sarcasm. “but while you were putting one your little ‘show of arms’, the Blades and I were making actual progress in finding Lotor and taking down Zarkon!” Keith is panting now, swaying slightly where he stands but he’s determined to land the killing blow. “This is war! This is the fate of the universe not some petty game, and while you sit here tucked away and safe in the Castle of Lions, people _are dying!_ Innocent civilians, slaves , prisoners , rebels and yes – that includes The Blade of Marmora. Some of us are willing to give our lives, if it brings us any closer to universal liberation!”

Lance took a step back, looking like he was slapped. Shiro and the other Paladin’s weren’t faring any better. “Keith…”

Keith stumbled, legs trying to give out on him with all the emotional strain. Shiro was at his side in an instant, leading the exhausted paladin towards the barracks and leaving a gob-smacked Lance in their wake. Pidge sidles up beside him, neck bandaged and thoroughly coated in alien Arnica cream and smacks his arm

“Way to go genius.”

*VLD*VLD*VLD*VLD*

The weeks following Keith’s return were, tense to say the least. Keith drifted in and out of his own head, desperate to get back to Regris on an instinctual level but held back by that same instinctual terror that he’d be abandoned as soon as his mate found out what he’d done.

Coran knew. Keith knew that Coran knew. The other however had yet to corner him and question him over it, hadn’t even attempted to debrief him yet. He wanted to be thankful for that, at least – but something was wrong. His sleep was plagued with horribly vivid night terrors, and his entire body was sore and achy, especially his abdomen - wracked with sharp stabbing pains since the morning after the incident with Pidge. 

Logic said that he should just talk to Allura, if what the General said was true then Allura would surely be able to tell Keith _something_ about his condition. But something held him back. He and Allura still hadn’t quite fully recovered from the blow to their friendship when his heritage was revealed; It’s hard to forget the absolute hatred and disgust on her face when he’d told them all. He understood why she was wary, and that she was _trying_ , but it still hurt.

“Keith my boy! Can I talk to you for a tic or two?”

Keith looked up at the sound of a door sliding open, he’d apparently made he way all the way down to the infirmary his internal struggle leading his feet while his conscious brain was otherwise occupied. Coran’s friendly smile loosened some of the tension Keith had been carrying, and the tired paladin gave a hefty sigh. _‘Here it comes…’_

Keith allowed himself to be led into what they’d jokingly taken to calling ‘Coran’s office’ and ushered into a plush armchair. His shoulders slump and he makes a concerted effort to look _anywhere_ but at the concerned ginger preparing tea with a small kettle on the back counter.

“Now, don’t look so dreary. We both knew this was coming, I just want to get a better idea of what happened on that warship.” Coran pushes a mug of flowery smelling tea he knew from past debriefings was meant to calm anxiety, and quirked a brow as the Altean took a deep drink from his own mug. Coran quirked his own brow in return, mustache twitching. “I’m not as young as I once was, and it’s not exactly easy on this old man’s heart to hear of all the danger you kids are constantly in.” He chuckles kindly and settles into his own armchair across from Keith.

He’d never thought about how everything going on effected Coran. He practically raised Allura, and now he had to stand on the sidelines and watch as his niece went out and risked her life on the battlefields on a daily basis. And with the majority of the Paladins being just barely at the cusp of adulthood, they had all sought out a stable adult figure to depend on – consciously or not – and Coran had stepped up to the plate. Providing comfort for a grieving homesick Lance, a firm reminder for Pidge when she stayed up a little too late or started skipping meals, spending time in the Kitchen with Hunk and teaching him the intricacies of Altean home cooking. He’d bonded with each and every one of them in some way and he was forced to entertain the possibility that one of them might not be coming home every time they left the safety of the castle. The realisation was… sad.

“You can start whenever you’re ready, Keith.” Coran called him back to himself gently.

Keith’s breathing caught in his throat, and his hands tightened unconsciously around his mug. “It was a simple scouting mission. A get in\get out sort of deal.” Coran hums, and Keith stares into the dark liquid in his mug contemplatively. “We discovered a new form of quintessence, a lot stronger than the other stuff. The readings were off the charts. Regris was almost finished uploading the files on this stuff when I was spotted by a sentry – I took it out before it could sound the alarm, but the damn thing jammed, firing as it went down. Kolivan of course, ordered us to retreat but, when I got back to our pod, Regris wasn’t there yet.” He explained how he went back not just for Regris- but for the information he carried. He told Coran how he was overrun and eventually incapacitated. “I don’t know how I got on that damn warship. The base we had infiltrated was well guarded but it wasn’t exactly military, It was more science than anything.”

Coran’s mustache twitched with interest, and he typed away at the little tablet he used to log their missions. “And what happened while you were incarcerated Keith?” Coran probes, not unkindly.

Keith’s breath shuddered out of his chest, and he steeled himself for what came next. “I was stripped of my possessions and liberated of my clothes. I woke up naked and chained. It was then that General Marik explained that he had a plan for me, revealing a handful of pills he called ‘seeds’ and inserting one rectally. He bred me with seed from a preservation jar. I blacked out at the end.”

Coran had stopped typing. “Keith…”

Keith took a shaky breath and sipped at his tea, grateful for the semblance of peace it gave him. He felt almost relieved to finally tell someone, and Coran had to know about the seed – if it really existed- and would surely know what to do about it.

“I know this is hard for you, but it’s quite strange that Marik didn’t breed you himself. If it really was someone else’s seed this may be a political movement. He didn’t happen to say anything regarding who the donor was?”

Keith thought back, combing through memories that he’d rather leave buried forever when he remembered the short Galra. “There was another there, he was small and seemed close to Marik – he’s the one who gave Marik the Seeds. I think his name was Imrich.” Keith shook his head slowly. “I doubt it was him though, he said t-the pup, would be _‘instrumental to the unseating of Emperor Zarkon’_.”

Coran takes another sip of his tea, cradling the warm mug and pursing his lips in concentration. With a heavy sigh, the tension melts from his face, but the worry remains.

“So… is what he said true? Is it- could I be…?”

Coran’s mustache twitched. “Yes.”

Keith blanched, head spinning and stomach churning.

“I’m assuming he told you about Blaytz and the request that led to his tragic demise.” Coran drew a slow breath, and released it slowly. “Alfor warned him the Seed may contribute to and even exacerbate a series of complications, but that stubborn fool was willing to put his own life at risk to give his mate the child they so desired… Blaytz was not a weak man, and the strength it took to bring their child into the world destroyed him. We watched as he wasted away and still he smiled and laughed and glowed with pride at the thought of being a father.” The ginger shook his head sadly, giving a mumbled apology. “I don’t mean to scare you Keith, I apologize, but if the Seed was successfully fertilized…”

Keith’s mind was reeling, and despite the gravity of the situation he found himself fixated on a smaller detail that didn’t fit with what Marik told him. “Blaytz… had the baby? Not Dobromil? I thought…”

“Ah well, It has been over ten thousand years. I wouldn’t be surprised if the finer details of the story were lost to time.” Coran smiled weakly, giving a half-hearted chuckle. “Blaytz was stubborn and foolhardy yes, but he would never knowingly put someone he loved in harms way. He and Dobromil argued for weeks over who would carry their child, and in the end Blaytz won out. I don’t know how he convinced his lover but knowing the two of them I’m sure it was utterly indecent.” They chuckled a bit at that, but it wasn’t long before they returned to the situation at hand.

“There are tests we can do of course, but it’d be helpful to know if you’ve been experience anything unusual. Have you noticed anything, Keith? Anything at all.”

Keith went on to tell Coran all he had experienced in the past few days, confiding in the older man the _symptoms_ he’d been trying his hardest to brush off and ignore. He was constantly exhausted, sleep interrupted by the various aches and pains throughout his body even before the nightmares could take hold, smells that he’d previously delighted in – _the slightly sweet aroma of hunks altered food goo, or the rough chemically smell of motor oil_ – turned his stomach. Even his chest had decided to mock him, nipples swollen and puffy; he wasn’t quite at an A cup yet, but if his chest kept this up it wouldn’t be long off. Keith isn’t stupid. He’d taken family studies in middle school. He’d known what these things could mean even as he tried to explain them away. By the time Keith had finished speaking, he was trembling again, from fear or simply from the strain of keeping his shit together for _just a little bit longer-_

“I can’t do this Coran…” Keith’s voice is high and strained as he held back the tsunami of emotion threatening to overwhelm him.

“We don’t know if the seed took Keith, there’s a chance your body rejected it, and even if the seed took to your foreign anatomy we don’t know if it was fertilized.” Keith shook his head as Coran wrapped him in a bear hug good enough to rival even Hunk’s. “We’ll do some tests, find out once and for all.”

And just like that, the dam broke. Keith was having a full blown emotional breakdown in the basement of a ten-thousand year old alien spaceship while being held by an almost extinct species of extra-terrestrial. He sobbed, snot running from his nose and making a mess of the royal advisors suit, and maybe he’s finally gone crazy because soon enough he’s laughing too. Crying and laughing and snotting all over his crazy-yet-somehow-philosophical-space uncle.

“If you tell anyone I cried I’ll wax your mustache in your sleep.” Keith hiccoughs into Coran’s chest, voice thick and broken.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less my boy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT BEING TOO TIRED FOR FUN FACTS IN THE FIVE SECONDS FROM TYPING UP THE BEGINNING NOTE! I figured I could tell you guy's what some of the 'Galran' (They're traditional Slovakian names lol) names I picked out for my characters mean. Not all of them, cause you haven't met them all yet but still. I'M RAMBLING SOMEONE TAKE MY KEYBOARD AWAY-
> 
> Funfact:  
> Marik - meaning warlike/martial 
> 
> Imrich - meaning ruler of the household (Yes there is a reason i chose this name but I can't tell you why without minor spoilers so... woo!)
> 
> Dobromil - meaning kind and gracious


	4. Interlude: The Muddy Waters of Grief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An interlude (chapterlet?) featuring Allura and Coran.... Just remember that it was the Galra that massacred her entire race, and while it's been 10, 000 years for the rest of the universe, her and Coran only just woke up - it might as well have just been yesterday for her. Another thing to consider is that Coran - being much older than Allura - was born in a time where war was still very much prevalent, and it wouldn't be too far fetched to believe he has some prior experience with grief. Meanwhile, Allura was born after the creation of Voltron and grew up in a time of relative peace - until Zarkon went mad and turned on his fellow paladins. Just something to think about while reading. 
> 
> Enjoy~

“Coran.” Allura strides into the room with all the confidence of a woman on a mission, coming to a stop beside the table where Coran is pouring over Keith’s medical scans. She pauses, peering over the files with a grimace. “How long can we expect to have Keith on board the castle ship?”

Coran clicks off the tablet, setting it to the side and giving the Princess a vaguely confused look. “I’m afraid I’m not sure what you mean Princess. Keith is a Paladin of Voltron, where else would he stay but on the Castle with us?”

“I had figured that since Shiro has proven capable of piloting the Black lion again that Keith would feel return to his own people.”

Coran plies Allura with a disapproving frown. “His own people?”

The princess on her part, has the decency to look at least a little embarrassed. “You know what I mean Coran. Keith has been shirking his duties as a Paladin since he discovered his heritage, and seeing as he enjoys his time frolicking with the Blades – it wouldn’t be sensible to keep him on as Leader now that Shiro is capable of reclaiming the title.”

Coran’s heart sinks as the princess continues.

“I should expect he’ll return to the Marmoran’s base as soon as he is able, yes? We can spare an escape pod to return him to the rebels.” She gives Coran a warm, if slightly guilty smile. “It’s for the best.”

She turns to leave, stopping in the doorway to give the troubled advisor a final glance. “Oh and Coran? I’d appreciate it if we could keep his leave of absence a secret. I’m afraid if Shiro learns why Keith is leaving he may reject the position.”

“Of course Princess.” Coran watches the Princess leave with a disappointed frown. It seems his plans to care for Keith just got a little more complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I warned y'all Allura has issues didn't I? Don't worry, she'll get her shit together eventually. It'll take some time for her to work through her grief though.... things will get a lot worse before they get better.
> 
> Thanks for reading, drop a comment and let me know what you think!  
> A2A


	5. Interlude P2: Gone With the Solar Wind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody! You've probably noticed the slow in updates, and that's simply because my safety cushion of complete chapters is running out and I need to catch up XD 
> 
> But listen, I need your help! If you don't mind a minor spoiler, please follow this link and participate in my poll here:
> 
> https://twitter.com/dillmonkey345/status/1074517205704859648
> 
> We're currently split 50/50! Your vote can directly impact this fic, and I'll try to announce all updates on Twitter, so feel free to follow me while your there. (Don't have to but...) I want your opinion!

Keith was gone. 

Nobody had seen hide nor hair of him for weeks, and Coran was acting strangely suspicious. The mustachioed Altean clearly knew more than he was letting on and Lance had no grounds to do anything about it. 

“Is it not possible he just returned to The Blade of Marmora? He’s done this before.” Allura asks, observing the star map spread out around her. “If that is the case it would certainly explain why we can’t get a read on his armors locating function.” 

Hunk nods along, thinking back to the base surrounded by deadly celestial objects. “Allura’s not wrong guys, that does sound like something Keith would do. And if he’s with the blades at least we know he’s safe.”

“Are you kidding me Hunk! The Blades are the ones who left him to die on that Galra ship!” Lance was furious and Pidge was on his side, much to the surprise of everyone present. 

“Lance is right, and besides; Keith wouldn’t just up and leave without telling anybody! He may run off to gallivant with the blades often enough but he always told at least Shiro were he was going.” 

Hunk resisted the urge to shrink back under the angry technician’s gaze, and stood his ground. There was more to this than meets the eye, he knew it. “Um, if I might remind everyone that it was Kolivan himself who raised the distress signal that led us to Keith? If they didn’t care why would they bother sending out the call?”

That gave Pidge pause, but it wasn’t nearly enough to quell Lance’s rage. Shiro got involved before the situation could escalate any further.

“Alright guys calm down. We’re all worried about Keith, but fighting amongst ourselves isn’t going to help us find him.” He stepped up to Allura’s side. “Can you pull up a communication line with the Blades Allura?” 

Allura nods primly and suddenly a video screen materialized, pushing away the holomap. It rings three times. And then the line went dead.

“That’s strange, the connection was stable. They must have rejected our call.” Shiro’s face with scrunched with confusion and worry, and Allura placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

“It’s ok. They’re likely just busy right now, we’ll try again later.”

With that, Lance amended his previous assessment. It wasn’t just Coran involved in Keith’s disappearance. There was no way that Allura would be so calm about the disappearance of one of her Paladins unless she knew where they went; which only left one explanation. Whatever had happened to Keith, Allura was aware of the situation. 

~~~

Another three weeks passed without any indication to where Keith had disappeared, and the Blades hadn’t responded to any of the Castles attempts to reach them. Coran had been acting increasingly suspicious, disappearing every other day around the same time and Lance for one, had had enough. 

Today was the day he was going to find out what was going once and for all. 

Hunk was clearing the table after dinner, and Coran excused himself with an exaggerated yawn. “Oooh boy! Hunk that was absolutely delightful, but I am knackered!” He rinsed his plate, placed it carefully in the dishwasher, and left the kitchen.

Lance was quick to follow, giving his own bullshit excuse before rushing stealthily after the worn advisor. Coran hadn’t even noticed his tail, leading him straight to his office in the lower levels of the Castle. 

Lance concealed himself just outside the door, and listened in. 

“Ulaz.”

\- Coran. It is a bit early to hear from you isn’t it? –

Lance grit his teeth to keep from saying anything. He knew the Blades were involved, and the fact that they were ignoring communications from the Castle only fueled his suspicions. The knowledge that Coran had been contacting them privately this whole time set a dangerous curl of fury alight in his gut.

“I am terribly sorry friend, we’re just eager to be checking in on Keith. It’s getting close isn’t it?” 

There was silence on the other line. 

\- It’s growing at an unprecedented rate for a halfling. His body may not be able to handle this much longer. – 

“I was afraid of that. Has he at least been able to eat anything of late?” 

\- Nothing that provides proper nutrients for his own body. It pains me to say it but we may have to consider quintessence therapy. – 

“Have you talked to Keith about this? You know he has no trust for the druidic science.”

\- Keith may not have a choice. – Another strained silence. – It’s breaking him Coran. He’s strong, but not strong enough to survive this on his own merits. – 

That was all Lance needed to hear. Keith was sick – dying if what he overheard was true. It was time to pay a visit to the Blades, he was going to get his friend back no matter the cost. He turned tail and made a B-line for the Lion Hangars, dropping all pretenses of secrecy in his fury.

He made it to Red’s hangar in a time that would have made Allura proud. It would take some time to get to the base without a wormhole, but Red was up to the task. She would keep her Paladin safe; both of them. 

~~~  
It took another week to reach the main base, partly because Lance had forgotten to pack anything – food or otherwise in his haste, and ended up having to stop on an allied planet to mooch some supplies before he could be on his way again. By the time Lance reached the secret hide-away of the Blades his anger had calmed significantly, turning to a sickly mess of worry and apprehension. Keith was sick - very sick, and even the Blades didn’t know how to fix whatever was wrong with him.

Lance made his way down Red’s exit ramp with faux calm, fanning the flames of his anger just enough to keep him going and just barely managed to keep from summoning his Bayard as he’s greeted by the Marmoran, Ulaz. 

“You have Keith.” It’s a statement, not a question. “What’s wrong with him?” 

Ulaz looks pained as he answers. “Paladin… It is not my place to tell…” seeing the normally cool and collected Blade so frazzled was disconcerting, to say the least. 

Lance bristles, fear for his friend scrambling his mind as he snarls at Ulaz. “If there’s something wrong with him he should be at the castle with US! We have advanced healing technology, he should be in a pod!”

Ulaz shakes his head sadly, prying the Red Paladin’s hands away from where they gripped his chest plate. “I can assure you that if this was something that a cryo pod could help then we would have already placed him in one of our own, Paladin McClain.”

Lance’s face went ashen, and he stared at the former spy in shock.

“I will take you to see your friend, Lance. However I must ask you not rile him up to badly… he needs to conserve his energy, and any strength he wastes arguing with you could worsen his condition substantially.”


	6. Unlikely, Unhealthy & Unnatural

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo, the person who has been proofreading my stuff is busy with her own stuff at the moment so y'all are gonna have to settle for me! (I apologize in advance) 
> 
> Also, I need help. I did a poll on twitter, but it was inconclusive and I'm having a hard time deciding for myself so i ask YOU:
> 
> Fluffy Galra Ears or Pointy Elf-like Galra Ears?
> 
> I know Krolia has the pointy ears, but I've become quite partial to the fluffy ears I've seen on so much fanart. Let me know which you are partial to in the comment section!

_“I will take you to see your friend, Lance. However I must ask you not rile him up to badly… he needs to conserve his energy, and any strength he wastes arguing with you could shave hours off the time he has left.”_

Lance nods numbly, anger having left him in a cold rush as Ulaz makes his request. He follows quietly through the twists and turns of the maze like base, but his worry leaves him as they near the med bay. Raised voices can be heard at the end of the hall, Keith is -unsurprisingly- being difficult.

“Regris let me go, I can walk the five feet it takes to get to the bathroom by myself!”

Lance ran the rest of the way, coming up on the room, door cracked open to reveal a harried looking Blade supporting an indignant Keith.

“You’re not supposed to be out of bed, just use the quiznacking bedpan!”

“I’m not a freaking invalid! The bathroom is right there, let me keep what’s left of my goddamn dignity!”

Lance could only stare as his fellow paladin – hooked up to multiple drips and even a heart monitor – argued with Regris, a well-known halfbreed in the order – Lance remembers Keith talking about him to Pidge. He was his mate. Lance had a moment to mourn the loss of the famous mullet as he looked at his friend’s long hair thrown in a messy bun atop his head.

Of course he wasn’t going to give up one embarrassing nickname without coming up with another.

“I guess I can’t call you mullet head anymore,” Lance begins, hip cocked to the side cheekily. “Maybe I should just call you meatball head instead _Usagi-chan_.” Lance imitates a high-pitched girly voice and watches with satisfaction as Keith tenses, heart monitor beeping a little faster as the irritated paladin turns to face him.

Keith looked terrible. It was hard to tell from behind that he was sick, especially with his contrary personality, but looking at him head on it was glaringly obvious that he wasn’t ok. There were dark circles under his eyes, dark and purple and standing out all the more with his haggard appearance. Keith’s usually pale skin had become a sickly yellow, pulled tight over his bones as though he had no fat left. As though it was all sucked into the great burgeoning bulge of his belly.

Lance’s mind reeled, trying to come up with potential illness’s. _‘Hunk’s always raving about space parasites, maybe that’s what this is? It looks like when my sister was pregnant with Nadia but awful and sickly and impossible because Keith is a guy and I’ve seen Keith’s junk enough in the communal shower’s to confirm the fact and none of this made any sense and-’_

“Who let this asshole in?!” Keith exclaims angrily, pulling Lance out of his panicking thoughts. “I would literally have preferred _anyone_ other than him!” the flustered Cuban has barely any time to feel insulted (read _hurt_ ) before Keith’s face scrunches up painfully, white knuckling the IV pole he’d been using as a crutch. He whimpers in a way that Lance had never associated with the stubborn co-leader of team Voltron.

“Reg…”

Within seconds Keith was led back to the bed, and a bucket was shoved under his face just in time for him to heave messily into the bucket. Regris smoothing stray hairs out of his eyes with one hand, holding the bucket with the other as he made a series of odd purring, clicking sounds. Ulaz had pushed Lance out of the way and was showering Keith with questions that Lance could barely comprehend beyond ‘break’ and ‘puncture’.

“I’m fine Ulaz, he just stretched out a bit is all.” Keith grinds out between clenched teeth. “It’s not his fault. I’m just not strong enough to handle it.”

“He broke one of your ribs, Keith, any ‘stretching’ on the pups part could shift the bone out of place again.” Ulaz reminded patiently, tutting at the self-deprecating tone in the younglings voice. “And it’s nothing about strength. You are significantly smaller than the majority of Galra females, it certainly doesn’t help that the males of your species have an extra rib on .” He ignores the look Keith shoots him and continues to press lightly up Keith’s exposed ribcage, (and by exposed Lance means _exposed_. You could see every single rib with startling clarity under the skin) likely feeling for shifts in the break.

Lance – useful and wonderful as he is- is busy gaping at the horrifying sight before him. With Keith’s shirt hiked up it was easy to see the patchwork of bruises covering Keith’s stomach, skin stretched horribly and looking close to tearing open, spilling his innards like candy from a piñata. Lance cringed at the comparison.

“Keith.” Ulaz chastises lightly, “I’ve already told you several times that we have healing salves to assist with the stretch marks, and the more severe hematomas need to be taken care of. It’s not a show of weakness to accept medical attention.”

Regris snorts, setting down the bucket and giving Ulaz a vaguely amused stare. “I keep telling him that, but it seems the opinion of an apprenticed druid and seasoned technician isn’t enough for him.”

Keith smirks, though his voice is rough and croaking. “Damn right it’s not enough four ears.”

They share a look, and Lance felt his heart breaking though god only knew why. He chuckles awkwardly, voice strained with barely constrained panic. “So uh… is someone gonna fill me in? Cause there are clearly gaps in my knowledge.”

And suddenly all eyes are on him, as though they forgot he was there. _‘Nice.’_ He thinks bitterly.

To everyone’s surprise, it was Keith who broke the silence first. “It’s a really long story.” He starts, “But long and short of it is that I made a decision for the good of the mission, and wasn’t strong enough to deal with the results.”

Lance almost _felt_ the eyeroll that Ulaz gave, but Regris was already on it, pinning Keith with a disapproving glare. “You saved the mission Keith. Kolivan should’ve gone back for you! If he had let me go back, then maybe we would have gotten you out before he had a chance to...” the halfbreed trailed off, looking guilty. “If I hadn’t left you behind you wouldn’t have been captured in the first place.”

Keith snarled, heart monitor speeding up again as his temper flared. “If Kolivan had gone back for me it would have defeated the purpose of me saving your ass in the first place! What were you gonna do, take on an entire fleet by yourself?!” Keith pants, both Ulaz and Regris trying to calm him down with varying degrees of success. Keith’s heartrate levels out again, and he relaxes into Regris’ arms. “There’s no point in getting upset over hypotheticals anyway. What happened, happened. All we can do now is deal with the fallout.” He rubs a hand over his swollen middle, flinching a little as the skin contorts. Lance realizes with a sickening jolt that that was the baby _moving_.

He finds himself struggling to swallow down bile.

“Why not just get rid of it? Like,” Lance makes a gesture with his hands, grabbing onto one fist before pulling it out roughly. Keith snorts.

“You mean an abortion?” Lance flinches at the word, and Keith rolls his eyes. “Yeah we already tried that. Apparently the little parasite has sent stalks into all of my major systems to support growth or something and given that the kid is completely encased in the seed until it detaches naturally at birth, any disruption of it leads to ‘unpleasant results’.” Keith has affected a disturbingly accurate Ulaz impression by the end, and while Lance could see that the paladin was trying to keep it casual, he looked vaguely uncomfortable.

Lance’s shoulders droop, and he gives his friend a sympathetic look. “But you don’t want that anyway do you?”

Keith looks up at him, shocked and to Lance’s surprise faintly relieved. “I mean yeah, I did at first but…” He stroked gentle hands down the swell of his middle, fondness overtaking his features in a way that broke Lance like nothing else. “The little bastard’s grown on me, no pun intended.” He smiles sheepishly as he accepts a tube of cream from Ulaz. “I don’t think I’d be able to kill him at this point, even if we could.”

Regris, looked to be in as much turmoil as Lance as he watched Keith gingerly apply the salve, the pregnant male oblivious to the somber atmosphere that descends at his words.

“I’ve got my bases covered though. I got Kolivan and Antok to agree to help Regris out after he’s born, even though I know ninety percent of the people on this base would take any chance to spoil the kid rotten. Bunch ‘a softies…” He mutters under his breath, but his lips had quirked upwards in vague amusement. He sighs in relief as the bruises begin to recede leaving the stretch marks in stark contrast to his pale skin. “I know what it’s like to be left alone, I don’t think I could do that my own kid. At least with the Blades I know he’s in good hands.”

Lance’s chest tightens painfully at the casual way he talks about this, like he’s already accepted that this thing would be the death of him, and is willingly walking to his grave to give it a chance at life. He tires to affect a casual tone as he gently knocks his friends shoulder. “Come on man, you’re talking like you’re already dead and gone! You know what they say about living with one foot in the grave.” Lance’s voice cracks. “The one thing you can’t be stubborn about and it’s your will to live? That’s messed up bro.”

_‘Come on Lance, don’t you fucking cry! He’s not dead yet, we can think of something to save him, think think THINK!’_

Ulaz clear his throat, stepping back to Keith’s bedside from the corner he’d retreated into. “There is a way to make it through this, Keith.” Keith looks at the older blade, looking doubtful. “It would be a simple matter to intercept a quintessence shipment, and there is extensive research suggesting that in a diluted form quintessence can be an excelle-“  


“No.”

Ulaz gives Keith a pleading look. “Keith it really isn’t as bad as you think it is. The exchange of life force has been a lifesaving practice for centuries! If you would simply consider it-”

“This isn’t an exchange!” he exclaims, irritation seeping off him in waves. “Using innocent peoples lifeforce to save my own-“ he shakes his head, “It would make me no better than Zarkon!”

There is a limit to Ulaz’s patience it seems, and Keith has apparently reached it.

“Keith. You are wasting away to nothing, as a result of no fault of your own. You are an innocent and no matter the terrible circumstance it was conceived in, so is your pup.” Ulaz took a steadying breath, softening his voice to sound almost coaxing as he continues, “Your pup is dependent on you for everything, and will be for weeks after it’s born. You are of no use to it if you die. You are right in saying that your weakening condition is not the pups fault.” His voice hardens, and he gives Keith a reproachful look. “It is the fault of your stubbornness and pride, and as it stands that will be the death of you both.”

Keith recoils as if struck, and Regris gives Ulaz a pleading look. “Come on Ulaz, that’s a little rough don’t you think?”

Ulaz gives Regris a flat stare. “Rough it may be, but as we both know there is no time to waste with his foolish resistance. This is the harsh reality of the situation and it’s about time he realized it.” His attention shifts to Keith, sitting on the bed beside him. “I am aware that human infants are capable of surviving without their birth mother directly after birth if provided with the proper care; you did well enough, but you seem to be forgetting that this child will be a full three quarters Galra. Galran pups cannot survive without near constant contact with their mother, as well as many other scent and sound ques parents subconsciously produce that are too hard to replicate without the proper bond and even then it would be a coin toss if the child makes it to adulthood with its undoubtedly stunted development. If we were stationed on a Galra inhabited planet then perhaps I would have access to the sort of equipment to simulate a mothers chirps and scent ques, but we simply do not have that technology on the base.” Ulaz looks down at Keith, with an encouraging smile. “Your pup needs you, and quite frankly, so do we.”

Keith looked first to Regris, than to Lance, expression searching, before he sighed.

“We don’t even know if I’d be able to put out the right pheromones anyways...” He argues, face conflicted. 

Lance could see how hard he was trying to hold himself together in front of Keith. “Lance is right you know, It’s not like you to back down from a challenge. Is the badass Lion Jumper of Marmora losing his nerve?” Regris smirks forcibly at his mate, attempting to provoke him into action.

Keith shakes his head. “I’m not backing down on this Regris; I’m not gonna follow Zarkon’s path.” Regris begins to object, and Keith sighs in aggravation. “You’ve never met him Reg, what happened to him… he’s less than human – err, Galran. I’m not gonna let myself end up like him.”

The room falls into an oppressive silence for a minute or so, interrupted only as Keith squirms uncomfortably.

“Look guys can we argue about this later? I still need to pee, and I’m not using the god damned bedpan.”

~~~~~~~~~

__

In the end Keith consented to letting Regris help him to the bathroom, and the trip down the hall and back had seemingly exhausted him. Now, sat at Keith’s bedside and watching the shallow rise and fall of his chest, it was glaringly obvious that Keith’s life hangs in the balance. Lance had always wanted to see his rival be taken down a peg or two, but he never wanted Keith to be thrown so far off the ladder that he looked… like this.

Regris sits on Keith’s other side, rubbing his thumb gently over the back of Keith’s hand in a remarkably human gesture of affection. “He never sleeps this soundly anymore… not unless Ulaz puts him under.” He laughs helplessly. “I actually think it may have something to do with you, Lance. Must be comforting to have another Paladin here…”

“Maybe.” Lance swallows dryly, mouth dry and chest tight. “We can feel it, sorta. Like an emptiness in the Lion Bond the farther away a pride-mate is. Keith’d always been better at all that self-awareness shit, only one better ‘s Shiro.”

Regris nods, eyes never leaving Keith’s sleeping face. “He told me a bit about that. Said when Shiro disappeared he felt it like a piece of himself disappeared all at once, and the rest of him didn’t know what to do with the gaping wound it left behind.”

Lance floundered a bit for an appropriate response before letting them lapse into a heavy silence. Now that Regris wasn’t putting up a front for Keith, it was easy to see how heavy the worry weighed on him. His face sad and shoulders hunched, like he held the weight of a thousand worlds on his shoulders. Lance wanted nothing more than to blame Keith’s current condition on Regris – it was _his_ ass Keith got captured saving after all – but seeing him now, battered and broken, he just couldn’t. This must be the man’s own personal hell, watching the man he loves – who was pretty damn well his husband by human terms - weaken and waste away, raped and impregnated by his enemy and facing down the barrel of his own demise with the same grim determination he uses to face everything else? Lance can only imagine how this is tearing him apart.

“How are _you_ doing man? Honestly.”

Regris pauses, glancing away from Keith for this first time since Lance met him – and then he laughs, the sound mildly hysterical, stopping and starting in staccato bursts, made eerier by the Galran’s desperate attempts to stifle his noisy outburst.

“I honestly have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve failed Keith as a mate, put his life and spirit in danger, and yet he insists on taking all the blame for himself. I let him be marked by another Galra, and he insists I am innocent of any blame! He’s dying, Lance. He knows it too, and yet there is nothing I can do. Nothing to save him, nothing to ease his pain. You weren’t here when the child broke his ribs, didn’t hear the sickening crack and resulting screams of pain – but I was, and it’s not a memory I’ll soon forget.” Regris rests his face in his palms, breath coming in quick bursts and shoulders shaking. It took Lance a minute to realize that the scaly blue alien was holding back tears. “I don’t know what I’ll do if he doesn’t make it through this…”

Lance stood, chair screeching against the floor as he moves to comfort the hysteric alien. “Hey man, no. Keith’s gonna make it through this, I just know it.” – He didn’t know it. Not in the slightest. – “I promise.” And this was just a gigantic mistake, Lance could practically hear his Mama telling him how unwise it is to make promises he can’t keep but at the same time… he couldn’t give up. It’s not what Keith would do be+fore and It’s not what Lance’ll do now.

“We both care about Keith,” Lance gives Regris a reassuring smile. “And we’re both going to make sure he makes it through this, alright? Keith’s a strong dude.”

“You’re right paladin.” Regris nods, exhaling shakily, “We will make sure he survives to hold his pup.”


	7. Sorry

Keith's Mission is undergoing some serious revision, and once I've fixed it, I'll likely repost all previous chapters and the new chapter in one lump post. If not, then I've decided to make this one uber long story divided into three parts instead of two multi chapter stories. Too much information is missing with the way I have the story written now, not to mention all the typos... ugh. 

Thank you so much for comments, kudos etc, and more importantly for your patience! I'll try to have this up as soon as I'm happy with it!


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